Comparing box and whisker diagrams in a meaningful, relevant way is something that higher GCSE students find notoriously difficult. Comments such as “they have a bigger interquartile range” without knowing what that means, or worse still “they have a high interquartile range, so they are taller”, are all too prevalent.

This lovely resource might just ben what is needed to help students make the connection between the key components of box and whisker diagrams and their actual mathematical meanings. By presenting them in the context of movies, students find something relevant that the engage with and understand. This allows the building blocks to be put into place, allowing them to move onto the more traditional exam based questions with greater confidence. My Year 11s found this activity very useful (and enjoyable!).

Thank you for sharing!

Craig Barton

Download Comparing Box and Whisker Diagrams

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